Passenger seat assemblies in motor vehicles are often designed with a backrest portion which folds or collapses to a generally horizontal non-use position for increased cargo carrying capacity. Usually these backrest portions are either freely pivotal between their vertical use position and horizontal folded position with an inertial latch provided in the event of sudden deceleration, or in the alternative are locked in the vertical use position with a manual latch requiring deliberate manipulation to release to the non-use position. The former option is considered more convenient and is usually less costly to manufacture. Inertial latches as used in motor vehicle seating applications are well known in the art. Examples of such may be had in U.S. Pat. No. 4,318,569 to Bilenchi et al., issued Mar. 9, 1982, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,100,202 to Hughes, issued Mar. 31, 1992.